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Convenience stores revolution. (Dieter)Clean & organized, ok prices, friendly staff, good snacks, coming up like mushrooms. I sat down with their Management team, about 50 24-hour convenience store will arise in Chengdu in 2011, the next years the number will increase to over 300. Already kicking Wowo, Huhui & Hongqi's asses. What I heard that they were allowed into town only with the deal off not being able to sell cigarettes..

Susan Johnson (more chengdu)The name internationally most associated with 24/7 availability, 7-11 has ambitious expansion plans in Chengdu. With our first local store only opened this spring and 50 more planned by the end of the year, 7-11 is set to change the landscape of the convenience stores in Chengdu. The local 7-11s do not have as wide a selection of products as other convenience stores such as Hong Qi, but the stores' small space means you can be in and out in a flash and a person's incidental needs are all covered. The snacks, drinks, and candy selection also seem to feature more imported products.

The 7-11s in Chengdu are following the formula that has brought them success in other major Chinese cities by concentrating on takeout food and snacks. The 7-11 in our neighbourhood seems to be busiest around mealtimes, when they put out several dishes of takeout food. We went in for lunch, which starts around 11:00, and found bowls of local flavour dishes – mapo tofu, twice cooked pork, shiitake mushroom chicken, egg and tomato, corn and green peppers, and yu xiang pork. A rice box topped with two dishes will run 10 to 12RMB. We sampled a very respectable mapo tofu and decent twice cooked pork on the side. The small store and quick service means that a couple of dishes and rice can be picked up within minutes. They have soymilk and baozi all day as well as the increasingly popular Japanese style oden – various kinds of meat, tofu, and noodles cooked in a sweet and savoury broth. The cooler also supplied several kinds of sandwiches, salads, cold tossed noodles, and desserts.

While some locations are takeout only, others, such as the Hong Pai Lou store, have counter space for eating. The other convenience store chains in town had better watch their backs.